Digital Outpatients

Our next Innovation Exchange will focus on the opportunities to modernise outpatient services through digital innovations. Making use of new technologies can help reduce non-attendance and cancelled appointments whilst providing a more efficient and effective service.
Join Eastern AHSN as we bring together NHS providers and commissioners with innovators and solutions to delivering a digital outpatient service.

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Overview

Across the NHS, the number of outpatient appointments has nearly doubled in the last 10 years. With increased demand on services and a renewed focus in the NHS Long Term Plan to provide online consultations to a third of all outpatient appointments, our digital outpatients innovation exchange aims to explore how the latest digital innovations can deliver better outpatient services.

“The outpatient system is older than the NHS and the time has come to grasp the nettle and use tech and other innovations to improve patients’ experience and care. As part of the long-term plan for the NHS, it’s right we look at ways to cut unnecessary appointments, save thousands of journeys, reduce traffic and pollution and make the NHS more efficient.” - NHS England Medical Director, Professor Stephen Powis

When: 10th March 2020

Where: Newmarket

Our draft challenge statements outline the opportunities in delivering outpatient services differently. They will be refined and ratified by our Advisory Panel, a selected group of healthcare professionals across the local system.

1. Improving the patient experience - some patients find hospital visits time-consuming and expensive. Children and the elderly particularly can find it especially stressful. How can we make their experience better, or give alternative ways of accessing care?

2. Improving capacity in outpatient clinics – expanding or making the best possible use of available capacity can increase the number of patients who can be seen, reduce waiting lists and better meet demand.

3. How to build and deliver a digital future - moving to digital appointments and review clinics will require cultural change.